The standoff between the N.C. General Assembly and the city of Charlotte over control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport now boils down to arguments over bond transfers, fair compensation for surrendering a civic asset, the nuances of general and local bills and whether any entity other than the Federal Aviation Administration has the power to transfer an airport to new governance.

The series of moves Thursday that briefly created an airport authority, only to have the move halted by a court order, and the subsequent resigned/fired letter from then-CLT aviation director Jerry Orr, leaves everything in the hands of a judge.

That occurred 18 minutes before ratification of the bill in the N.C. Senate that created a regional airport authority to govern CLT. Bob Hagemann, the city attorney, says that 18-minute gap helped the city avoid an intriguing argument over whether a restraining order could be put in place if an authority had already been established.

Bills are ratified when the leaders of the House and Senate have signed them. In this case, the airport authority bill was signed just after 4 p.m. That was about 90 minutes after the state Senate voted to create an independent authority and remove the city from airport oversight after 80 years.

The move sets up a legal showdown involving current and former mayors, the governor and, at some point, perhaps, the federal government. Former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx became federal transportation secretary this month, resigning his mayoral post and taking over a government division that includes the Federal Aviation Administration. Until Foxx resigned as mayor this summer, he opposed the push by state lawmakers to create an airport authority.

Gov. Pat McCrory, the Republican who served a record seven terms as Charlotte mayor, reiterated during a Charlotte appearance yesterday that he views the CLT struggle as an “internal conflict” because it pits the mayor and City Council against Mecklenburg Republicans in the state House and Senate. Many of those Mecklenburg Republicans just happen to be McCrory allies, including House Speaker Thom Tillis and state Rep. Ruth Samuelson.

Supporters of the authority told me after the restraining order they remain confident the state will prevail and an authority will run Charlotte Douglas. A hearing is scheduled for July 29. Hagemann said Friday it’s possible the hearing could be rescheduled, perhaps a month or two later.

Barring a settlement, Hagemann will lead the city’s case. A unanimous City Council vote earlier this year gave Hagemann permission to fight a state authority bill if the General Assembly approved one. Former state Supreme Court justice Bob Orr, now with Poyner Spruill’s Raleigh office, and Jim Phillips of Greensboro-based Brooks, Pierce, are working for the city, too.

The attorney general’s office will represent the state, and former mayor Richard Vinroot, McCrory’s predecessor, is working for the authority and Jerry Orr.

Bob Orr is a Republican and former candidate for governor; Phillips served as legislative counsel in the 1990s as part of the administration of Gov. Jim Hunt, a Democrat.

Vinroot said he is confident the bill will take effect. “The legislature decides what a city can and can’t do,” he told me this week. “It’s as simple as that.”

The city contends four issues make the airport authority bill illegal. If an authority is allowed, the city says, it would:

•Deprive the governor of constitutional responsibilities. Because the bill was passed as a local bill, or one that doesn’t require McCrory’s signature, it is invalid. The city says it is invalid not because the governor didn’t act on it, but because the state constitution requires any legislation dealing with airports to be general laws. If revised and passed as a general law, the authority bill, as a general law, would need the governor to sign the measure, veto it or ignore the bill for 10 days until it becomes law. Few of those options would be appetizing for the governor, who says he has worked to be a mediator on the authority issue. Public pressure could force him to take a side if the bill is pursued as general law.

•Damage the city’s, and possibly the state’s, bond ratings. Debt and the potential problems created by moving to an authority from city government simmered throughout the past six months of debate. CLT has $838.2 million of obligations. Three law firms have weighed in on the potential impact of an authority transfer on bonds. Campbell’s Alliance for a Better Charlotte enlisted a New Orleans firm that cited similar legal battles in Detroit and other cities; each time, the authority side prevailed. Bond attorneys for the city and the state treasurer raised questions about harmful effects. Hagemann said today the bond trustee, US Bank, has already told the city it will file a notice of default if and when an authority takes over. Jerry Orr, political consultant Stan Campbell and state Sen. Bob Rucho, among others, have said the argument holds no merit because, while the city technically issues the bonds, only airport revenue from airline gate leases, concession sales and other operations back the bond debt. Bond debt has been transferred in other cities where airports became independent authorities.

•Fail to have the FAA approve the transfer to an authority, according to the language of the bill. For more than a year, the FAA has not recognized an authority for the Asheville airport approved by the General Assembly because only the federal government can transfer licenses to operate an airport, Hagemann said.

•Deny the city “just compensation” for the airport. Rather than reimbursing the city for a limited amount of investments, Hagemann and the city say the citizens should be paid for the full value of the airport. Hagemann said Friday the city finance department calculates CLT’s worth in the range of $3.5 billion.

“The passenger doesn’t care who owns the airport, who runs the airport, all they care about are their own personal needs,” he said. “Those will not change at all, and we’ll still be here tomorrow and the day after to meet those needs.”

Orr, at least for the moment, actually isn’t at the airport and won’t be for at least a few more days while the restraining order is in place. Vinroot, his attorney, told me Thursday night Orr intends to run the airport as the authority’s executive director as soon as the lawsuit is settled. The state constitution, Vinroot and Hagemann agree, has broad control over what cities, towns and other public entities do and how they are run.

If nothing else, Orr proved prophetic yesterday in more ways than one when he was asked whether the airport talks and legislation have gone the way he expected.

“I’m an engineer, not a planner,” he said. “So nothing ever turns out the way I plan it.”